Delia's, the iconic '90s teen clothing chain, is liquidating all of its merchandise and will soon file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the company announced today.
The store has been in its death throes for months. The company announced in August it was searching for an acquirer, unable to cover its expenses for the next year. Its stock has been trading around 10 cents a share.
Once enormously popular in the '90s, when its famous catalogues were filled with chokers necklaces, denim maxi skirts and spaghetti strap tank tops, the store saw four straight years of sales declines. Last year, it tried to rejuvenate itself by bringing on a CEO who had helped recreate J. Crew, Tracy Gardner.
Gardner said the store would refocus on its core brand and traditional target audience, preteen and teenage girls looking for clothes that were a step up from traditional mall chains like Wet Seal and Aeropostale. Today, Delia's clothes, which retain much of the cutesy, relatively modest aesthetic of the '90s, are priced significantly higher than fast-fashion brands like Forever 21, with jeans retailing for $50 and shirts for over $30.
But Gardner's efforts failed, and sales continued to plummet, down more than 20% from the previous year. Delia's will begin liquidating its merchandise as early as today, the company said.